


Haunted

by deca81



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Jasico - Freeform, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Tartarus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:12:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9518273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deca81/pseuds/deca81
Summary: In which Tartarus has left it's mark on Nico. But Jason never leaves his side.





	

Nico would never truly be free of those horrifying memories. From the awful, burning sensation the water of the Phlegethon left behind as it coursed through his body, to the acidic smell of the place, everything had scarred him, broken him, permanently.

There were days when he refused to leave his bed in Cabin 13, days when he refused to eat, or forcefully threw up whatever small morsels he ate, days when he was certain that the shadows would just consume him, and he would finally be free from the torture that was his life. Even Hazel couldn't fix this.

But Jason, Jason was different. Jason puts up with his stubborn nature, comforts him as he cries, brings him food if he doesn't come for breakfast, and waits until he falls asleep each and every night. Most days, Nico wakes up after Jason, but on the days that he does (miraculously) wake up first, Jason is lying on the cold, unwelcoming floor. Those days, he just pretends to be asleep when Jason wakes up.

One morning, he was feeling particularly audacious, and worked up the courage to confront Jason about this. He asked him why he didn't just go back to his own cabin. And that was when he found out, the memories weren't just nightmares that he could keep a secret. He screamed and cried and whimpered in his sleep, until Jason woke up and comforted him.

Jason was his lifeline, his only source of comfort. And that was the day he offered Jason a weak smile, his first smile in what felt like a thousand years. Jason had smiled back, almost as tentative as Nico. That was when he knew things would eventually get better, a feeling he experienced again merely months after this, when he kissed Jason for the first time, right after their team won Nico's first game of capture the flag. With Jason, he could still hope.


End file.
